Brookfield Police Department will have a police officer assigned to the Brookfield Local School District building for the next three years, under a new contract agreed to by the township trustees and the school board.
The school board on March 15 approved paying 75 percent of the cost for the school resource officer, $66,552 for the 2023-24 school year, $68,267 in 2024-25 and $69,972 in 2025-26, an increase of 2.5 percent in years one and three, and 2.6 percent in year two. The previous contract showed yearly increases of 1.7 percent.
The trustees on April 3 approved taking the remaining 25 percent out of the police budget, $5,546 in 2023-24, $5,689 in 2024-25, and $5,831 in 2025-26.
The only changes to the current three-year contract, which ends June 30, are the dates of the term and the amount of money, said Police Chief Dan Faustino.
Gerald Hockey is the current SRO.
The SRO monitors students coming to school in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, helps school officials develop safety and emergency plans, investigates alleged crimes and responds to school issues upon request.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the township and the township police department over the past few years,” said school Supt. Toby Gibson. “We developed a rapport and relationship that benefits not only the students, staff and families in the school district, but the community as a whole. Having a school resource officer in the building on a daily basis helps provide a calming sense of security to those in our district, as well as being an integral part of developing our district safety plan and protocols.”
An SRO has been assigned to the school since Nov. 18, 2019. The officer works a regular police shift in the summers.
